Fiberglass Hood Hinge Mount

[Raymond_B]

Hey guys, I picked up a VFN hood for my Lightning. I was under the impression this had some sort of structure in the rear to mount a lightweight hinge, but when I inspected it today there is nothing. I am thinking of bonding a piece of aluminum to it with threaded holes so I can bolt it to the hinge. Is that possible? If so what would I use? A type of panel bond or something else?

Go easy

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Regular Two part panel bond. 3M 8115 for example. Make sure that whatever you use for reinforcement is significantly larger area than the hinge mount. Minimum 2x the area of the hinge. Only problem I see with mounting it with something with threaded holes is that the hood hinges on the truck were designed to mount in a certain area of the original hood and if the threaded plates you install are not at that position the hood will either sit high or low, this is assuming you correctly locate the threaded plates in the same position as the holes on the OEM hood. If you don't do that it won't line up side to side or front to rear. You can compensate some by opening up the hinge to body bolt holes though if it's high, shimming if it's low. Hopefully you can test fit someway before bonding because once the panel bond is on there it's there to stay.

 

[Raymond_B]

Regular Two part panel bond. 3M 8115 for example. Make sure that whatever you use for reinforcement is significantly larger area than the hinge mount. Minimum 2x the area of the hinge. Only problem I see with mounting it with something with threaded holes is that the hood hinges on the truck were designed to mount in a certain area of the original hood and if the threaded plates you install are not at that position the hood will either sit high or low, this is assuming you correctly locate the threaded plates in the same position as the holes on the OEM hood. If you don't do that it won't line up side to side or front to rear. You can compensate some by opening up the hinge to body bolt holes though if it's high, shimming if it's low. Hopefully you can test fit someway before bonding because once the panel bond is on there it's there to stay.

Thanks Chris! I think I am going to 3D print up the mounting bracket and then use a couple dabs of clear RTV just to keep it in place for fitment. Once I get them how I want I'll make them from aluminum. Didn't think about the extra height, great call, I will look to see how hard it would be to adjust the hinge up or down.

Thank you!